This November Extended Opportunities to Gain Indulgences

What is an indulgence?

We read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church 1471:

The doctrine and practice of indulgences in the Church are closely linked to the effects of the sacrament of Penance.

• “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.” 
• “An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.” 
• Indulgences may be applied to the living or the dead.¹

What does it mean to gain an indulgence?

Again, we find in the Catechism that an indulgence is obtained from God through the Church:

• An indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favor of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of mercies the remission of the temporal punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion, penance, and charity (1478).
• Since the faithful departed now being purified are also members of the same communion of saints, one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted (1479).²

What opportunities are available to me right now to gain an indulgence?

There are many opportunities available to us year-round, but especially in the month of November.  A plenary indulgence can be gained for the souls in Purgatory by visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead during the Octave of All Saints day, which is November 1-8, and those who piously visit a church or oratory on All Souls day and recite the Creed and the Our Father.  In 2020, however, due to concerns about the need to social distance to avoid spreading the coronavirus, a plenary indulgence may be gained any day of the month of November so long as all the ordinary conditions for obtaining a plenary indulgence are met.

What are the ordinary conditions for obtaining a plenary indulgence?

• Make a sacramental confession
• Reception of the Eucharist
• Pray for the intentions of the Holy Father
• Full detachment from sin

Sacramental confession and reception of the Eucharist can occur within a week of the indulgenced act.³

What if I cannot visit a cemetery or attend the Mass because of health reasons or advanced age?

“Because of the health emergency, the elderly, the sick, and others who cannot leave the house for serious reasons can participate in the indulgence from home by reciting prayers for the deceased before an image of Jesus or the Virgin Mary.

They must also spiritually unite themselves to other Catholics, be completely detached from sin, and have the intention of fulfilling the ordinary conditions as soon as possible.

The Vatican’s decree offered examples of prayers that homebound Catholics can pray for the dead, including Lauds (Morning Prayer) or Vespers (Evening Prayer) of the Office for the Dead, the rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, other prayers for deceased among their family or friends, or performing a work of mercy by offering their pain and discomfort to God.”⁴

Many of those prayers can be found on the internet or through Catholic apps for phones.  You can also read the Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary on Plenary Indulgences for the deceased faithful in the current pandemic, 10.23.2020 in English.

1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Indulgences,” Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText, ace:ssed October 30, 2020, http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P4G.HTM.
2. Ibid.
3. Catholic News Agency, “Vatican Extends Plenary Indulgence for the Dead throughout November,” Catholic Voice, October 23, 2020, https://catholicvoiceomaha.com/vatican-extends-plenary-indulgence-for-the-dead-throughout-november/.
4. Ibid.